New hope for bald men

Scientists have identified a set of genes vital to hair growth which could help the follically-challenged.

They believe the genes, discovered in cells taken from mouse follicles, could help provide new treatments aimed at stimulating - or preventing - the growth of hair.

US experts focused their studies on stem cells - "master" cells which can become different kinds of tissue - involved in hair production.

Stem cells were removed from mouse hair follicles and implanted into the skin of other hairless mice

They spontaneously grew into fully-formed follicles which sprouted hair, the team from Pennsylvania University Medical Centre found.

The implants led to the formation of follicles, hair, skin and glands secreting oil.

Genetic profiling revealed nearly 100 genes which were "switched on" in the stem cells. These provided coded instructions for making proteins, including molecules involved in hair growth.

One previous treatment for baldness was thought to alter hair growth by affecting potassium flow in and out of cells. But experts discovered that genes governing potassium flow were unregulated in stem cells.

The breakthrough also offers hope for those with excessive hair growth.

"The hair follicle stem cell genes could provide targets for treatment of hair loss and other disorders of the skin," the team told the journal Nature Biotechnology.